One or the Other
by UntilTheMorningComes
Summary: "Please!" Tohru bowed, closing her eyes in fear of rejection, "Please let me play basketball!" If they said no to her, she had rehearsed numerous times with her cousin Tobio about the reasons she should play with the Seirin basketball team so it came as a surprise that the coach merely smiled at her. "Sure." Full Summary inside.


One or the Other

**I wanted a break from my Hogwarts Story since it seems like I hit a road block to it (Not the idea mind you but rather the wording) and I had this story planned out for a bit. So I wanted to see where this would do and yes. Please rate and review, and tell me how it is.  
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**Summary: She was always competing, always. Tohru couldn't remember a time where she wasn't competing against anyone. In school it was for grades, outside of school it was for sports, and within her family she was always competing to better than her cousin, Kageyama Tobio. Even though they were different genders and went to different school, their mothers always compared the two whenever they visited. Not once did Tohru have a say in anything and her mother always decided what Tohru was to do next despite having her aunt back out of the family competition. The only true sport she loved was basketball, but her mother forced her to start gymnastics young and it was only due to her childhood friend, Kise Ryouta that she didn't go insane with the intense pressure. However, during her first Year at Teiko Middle school, everything went downhill for her. She and Kise began drifting apart, her mother forced her into more gymnastic practices limiting any free time for leisure or basketball and Tohru showed signs of having the same condition her mother had. Before Tohru knew it, her first year Teiko was up and she was leaving to America to "focus" more on gymnastics. Thinking that her days of freedom and basketball were over, Tohru never thought she would return to Japan. However two years later, she found herself back; an expert in gymnastics and a formable basketball player in secret. She then decides to join the basketball team at her new school, Serin, while her mother is not there. However, she thought she could easily make the transition between the two sports but as a condition she has gets worse, she is forced to choose whether she wants to continue playing basketball or gymnastics. What she thought would be an easy choice became the impossible task for the fifteen year old.**

**Talking: **"What are you doing here?!"

**Thoughts: **_Please! I don't know what to choose!_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no basket or Haikyuu, only my character Tohru Hatake.**

* * *

><p>"<em>Merry Christmas, dear sister." A very athletic woman with Brown straight hair said to an equally alike woman only her hair was black. The woman with black hair smiled tightly as she gave her sister a tense hug. <em>

"_Merry Christmas to you too. I see you brought your daughter…..but where's your husband?"_

"_He has work. He couldn't make it today." The first woman smiled tightly as well before pushing forward a small shaky black haired child with brown eyes. "Tohru, go play with your cousin Tobio while me and your auntie catch up." Without being told anything, Tohru hurried rushed in before crashing into a semi stoic black haired boy with dark blue eyes._

"_Oh Tohru-kun….you're here earlier than expected. " Eyes twitched at the sound of her nickname before she huffed out._

"_Shut up Tobio-chan!" Raising an eyebrow Tobio smirked back as he leaned over her—he was a good couple inches taller than her._

"_You do realize that my name is not feminine so the insult doesn't work." _

"_Shut up!" sighing heavily, Tohru suddenly deflated as she looked at her gloved hands. "I really don't want to start fighting again. Mom gets…..it puts pressure alright."_

"_What do you mean…" _

"_Don't tell you never hear it." Tohru said, bewildered. "Mom and Auntie always compare us whenever we come over! If Mom finds out that your better than me in something, she always pushes me even harder! Doesn't your mom do that too?" Humming in thought, Tobio shook his head._

"_No not really. I think she gave up trying to force me to be good at everything. I mean most of my grades are pretty good and I'm getting better at Volleyball so mom just…backs off really."_

"_Lucky." Tohru sighed heavily as she looked away. "Mom always pushes me, she's not satisfied with great…she wants me to amazing….."_

"_Did you hear Kana. Tohru-chan has already captured the eyes of some Olympic sponsors. She'll be like me in no time." Tohru mother's voice echoed in the house making Tohru wince even more. Tobio looked at her cousin and was shocked at the vacant look in her eyes._

"_And I hate Gymnastics….."_

* * *

><p><em>So how was Christmas with your family?" A blonde haired boy with golden eyes asked Tohru as she furiously dribbled down a street court before shooting.<em>

"_It was a bit unusual considering that my auntie didn't want to brag about my cousin this time but in the end Mom decided that Auntie thought Tobio-kun didn't even need to be bragged that she needed to push me even harder. She wants me to follow in her footsteps in gymnastics…Tck!" She growled out as her shot didn't go into the basket. _

"_But you're pretty good at Gymnastics. Why don't you like it?" Kise asked as he grabbed the wayward ball and passed it to his brown haired friend. _

"_You're pretty good at any sport so why don't you like any of them!" Tohru snapped before looking sheepishly away. "Sorry, mom upped the training so it looks like when we begin middle school, I won't have much time to hang out with you…."_

"_Don't think like that!" Kise suddenly said, "I'll always make time to hang out with Torhucchi! Always!" For a moment, Tohru was stunned at the sudden outburst before smiling brightly. _

"_Thanks Ryouta-kun! If you weren't my friend I think I would have gone insane."_

"_I'll always be your friend! No matter what!"_

* * *

><p><span><em><strong>Third POV<strong>_

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are arriving to our destination. Please stay in your seats as we descent into Japan. And enjoy your stay at Tokyo." Blinking heavily at the noise, a teenage girl with black hair—tied into a messy ponytail—with brown eyes and one lone piercing on her right ear, yawned loudly as she tried to shake the sleep from her eyes. Riding on a plane for nearly a day was rather tiring for fifteen year old Tohru.

"I wonder who my new coach will be." Tohru muttered unenthusiastically, stretching her arms as she turned to take a look at her window. She smiled softly as she saw the city's layout of her old hometown, before replacing it with a frown as she remembered the reason was coming back. "That woman can't let go of her past and now she's forcing it on me. What a hassle." Sighing heavily, Tohru placed her headphones in her ears—humming softly—and waited for the plane to officially land.

It had been a couple of years….well two to be specific—since she stepped foot in Japan. She had left right after her first year at Teiko middle school without much warning from her mother to America and next thing she knew she was focusing more on Gymnastics and had no life outside of it. She had lost contact with Ryouta….but then again then they weren't really on speaking terms considering the last conversation they had before she left was an argument that she didn't want to bring up. Her father had left her mother around the same time saying that she wasn't the same woman he loved twenty years ago and tried to get custody of Tohru. But when your mother is a big time Olympic player, one could afford big time lawyers and persuade the jury.

Tohru would have stayed with her father in the Miyagi Prefecture but her mother somehow arranged it so that she would stay in Tokyo with her gymnastic coach during the week to attend school and gymnastic practices but on the weekends she would stay with her father. Not the deal she was hoping to get, But Tohru preferred this over to spending another four years in America.

"It's not like she's giving me any other option really…" Tohru sighed as she pulled out a pure black IPod to switch the song. "I'm still under her majesty orders. Tch." Once the teenager had gotten her bags and into the waiting are, she sighed as she wondered who her new coach would be. Most of the coaches she had were either arrogant, too demanding, or did nothing. Of course the laid backs ones would usually brag to their fellow coaches at how they got to teach a genius the daughter of Hanabi Hatake Gold medal Olympic gymnast. But at least her mother knew which coaches were incompetent and quickly changed her. There were times when her mother taught her, but due to a….condition, she slowly stopped and thus coaches came in.

"You Tohru Hatake?" An annoyed voice spoke causing Tohru to look up. Staring down at her was a middle aged man with bright orange hair and orange like eyes and a sigh with her name on it.

"You're Kyo Sohma?" She asked as she put away her iPod, glaring at the coach. "I would expect a coach to be at least on time or late twenty minutes, not an hour." The man before her huffed in annoyance as he grabbed one of her heavier luggages.

"Well traffic fucks with ya. Not to mention I had to pick up some food for dinner." He sighed as he took another look at his new student. Appearance wise she didn't look like a prodigy or a genius in anything, in fact she looked like a normal teenager fed up with their parent's decisions. However Kyo knew better, in fact, anyone who took gymnastic or taught it knew better. She was known as queen of the floor—considering that she specialized in the same event just like her mother. She dominated every tournament in America and wowed her audience with her spectacular dance like movements. However, just like in every tournament the judges never gave out a perfect score which bothered Hanabi Hatake greatly. She expected nothing less of her daughter and wanted her to get a perfect score like she did in the Olympics.

Kyo was actually grateful he didn't have to face Hanabi Hatake in person considering how demanding she was but it bugged him to no end why she decided to choose him as her daughter's coach. He was barely into gymnastics himself, preferring martial arts instead—he was a black belt thank you very much—never participated in tournaments himself, and only coached four other girls. So why him? There were probably other coaches, better, eager and more qualified than him to teach Hanabi's daughter.

_This is going to drive me insane. _ Kyo thought as he sighed quietly.

"Are we going to go or are we going to sit here for another hour?" Tohru asked as she stood up and gave him a bored look.

"Tch. Shut up brat. We're going." He muttered as he turned around and walked towards his car. The rest of the car ride was silent as neither knew what to say to the other.

_God this is more awkward than sitting in a closed room with Hana and Shishu._ The orange haired male thought as he stopped at a red light. _But then again she is being forced to live with a complete stranger and not to mention kids nowadays don't like talking to adults….but I can't just sit here and be the coach who couldn't start a conversation! Gah what can I say! Huh…._ Kyo's train of thought came to a halt when he took notice of Tohru's gaze. For the first time since he saw her, she had a genuine smile—albeit it was tiny as hell—on her face and her eyes sparkled in delight as she saw kids playing basketball on a nearby court. However, it was short lived as the car behind the coach honked and reminded the gymnastic coach that the light here tended to go by real fast.

"So….you like basketball?" He asked as Tohru's smile disappeared and her eyes became void again. "You do look like a double sports person to me."

"No…." Tohru answered after a couple seconds of silence. "No, not anymore." Despite wanting to ask the young teenager what she meant by that, Kyo figured she wouldn't say anything to her. However, he know knew that growing up under the shadow of a national champion gymnast was probably more difficult than anyone made it out to be.

_What have I gotten myself into this time?_ He sighed heavily as he quickly merged into the freeway lane, praying that the trip back to his place would be much faster than getting to the airport.

* * *

><p>"Home sweet home." The orange haired coach smiled warmly as he parked his car and helped Tohru with her luggage. It was a simple two story house painted a light tan color and at the ledge of the window, the young gymnast could see thirteen misshapen, but adorable clay animals sitting there, observing the world around them.<p>

_Huh, they look like the animals from the Chinese Zodiac._ She thought as her coach tried to grab his keys from his pocket without letting go of the luggage.

"Just….give me a moment….gah!" He tried as the door suddenly opened, causing the gymnast coach to fall in.

"Oh sorry Kyo-kun! I didn't know you were outside!" A petite woman with long brown hair flowing loosely down her back apologized profoundly. If she wasn't holding a small infant in her arms, she would probably either had helped her husband or bowed down. However, the baby in the mother's arms merely giggled in delight as he saw his father.

"It's fine, no harm done. Now how's little Katsuya doing?" Kyo asked as he finally let go of the luggage and picked up his son who squealed even louder in delight. The young Gymnast could finally get a good view of the baby and there was no way she could hide the blush on her cheeks. Just like his father, Katsuya had a tuff of orange hair on his head but his eyes were a bit of brown and orange—a combination of both of his parents.

_I've never seen such an adorable looking baby….and it's smile….it's so cute!_ Tohru thought as the baby turned its smile onto her.

"Oh this must be Tohru Hatake!" The brunette smiled as she grabbed the gymnast's smaller bags. "It's a pleasure to meet you! My name is Tohru Sohma! It seems like we share the same name Tohru-chan!"

"What a coincidence." Tohru chuckled nervously, "I hope this isn't too much of a bother to you—"

"None at all! We have an extra bedroom ready for you." The older woman smiled as she traded the bag for her child and ushered the two of them inside the house. "And it's nice to have someone else living with us! It's like a new experience!"

"Like when you suddenly lived in Shigure's house?" Kyo asked, causing his wife to go a bit red in the face as the climbed up the stairs. "Because from what Yuki told me, it wasn't like you planned on—"

"A-a-and here's your bedroom!" Tohru-san nearly shouted as they reached a door at the end of the corridor. "And the door next to it is the restroom. Our bedroom is a bit further down if you need us or anything."

"Ah thanks….." Tohru—the younger—replied as she opened the door to her simple room—a bed with a desk and drawer—and took her luggage from her coach.

"Ano…..dinner will be ready soon. We would be very happy if you join us…." The gymnast gave her coach a small tired smile as she nodded.

"I…I would like that very much." Smiling even brighter the elder Tohru bowed her head and quickly made her way down the stairs and most likely towards the kitchen leaving the coach and gymnast alone.

"Your father will be here tomorrow to pick you up and take you to his place for the weekend." He muttered as Tohru's eyes widen.

"Otoo-san is?" She asked, "But I thought…."

"Tomorrow's a Friday, so in my books not really worth going until Monday. Besides I called your teacher and told them you needed an extra day to get used to the different time zone." Kyo chuckled as turned around to exit the teen's room. "So use this time with your dad to do whatever you guys want over there."

"Not that there's much to do over there." Tohru chuckled but a small smile danced along her lips. "Thanks….for every Kyo-san."

"Whatever kid." He laughed lightly leaving the young gymnast alone in her room. Tohru took the time to throw her bag on the bed before sighing softly.

"Maybe, this won't be such a bad idea after all…."

* * *

><p>"Otoo-san!" Tohru cried happily as she saw her father sitting at the breakfast table the next morning, chatting up her coach and his wife. "You're here!" Looking up from the table, a man with brown messy locks and blue eyes smiled brightly at his daughter as she came running down the stairs.<p>

Tohru's father—Kaneki Hatake—was in his late thirties early forties and despite teaching at a high school near his house, he had the athletic build of a basketball player. It was how he caught Hanabi's attention back in high school, and since then he played basketball, and other sports occasionally, to keep himself in shape and was a basketball coach for some time. He was the reason why Tohru was so into basketball; she wanted to be just like him when she was younger. Of course her mother intervened and the rest was history. Her father still encouraged her to play basketball during the time she visited him, but there was only so much she could do in just a couple of days she visited him over the years.

"Oh course I would be here." He laughed as he tightly hugged his daughter he scarcely saw over the last two years. "This'll be the first time I get to see you constantly."

"I wish I could stay with you instead of mom…" Tohru whispered angrily casing her father to sigh heavily.

"That's not for me to decided…now come on. We need to hit the road otherwise I can't introduce you to my friends." His daughter gave him a strange look. "What?"

"You having friends? Are they using walkers?"

"They're not that old!" He snapped playfully causing Tohru to giggle. "In fact they're colleges from….work?"

"So they're younger than you?" Tohru gasped before dramatically placing her hand over her heart. "My dad thinks he still's cool enough to hang out with the younger kids. What shall we ever do?"

"Alright kiddo, laugh all you want, but I think you'll like them." Tohru's father smiled as he ruffled her hair. "Now finish the breakfast that Tohru-san graciously made for you. Which by the way Kyo-san you are a lucky man." Both the Sohma's blushed a bright red causing the two Hatake's to laugh at their stuttering.

"Itedaikimasu." Tohru smiled as she dug into her breakfast, already feeling good about the morning and weekend to come.

"So what's new? Anything worth telling this old man?" Kaneki asked his daughter as she hummed happily in the car, shuffling through her iPod as it played in his car's stereo.

"Not really. Mom's been stuffing training regime after regime and tries to put me into as many tournaments as she can. I'm actually surprised that I haven't failed any of my classes because of all the training she puts me through…."

"Hanabi never settles for second best that's for sure…" Kaneki chuckled nervously as his daughter gave him a glare. "It's a good trait to have honestly but sometimes….if you overdo it then any trait is bad."

"Especially when you force it on someone else…." She grumbled and her father couldn't help but sigh. He knew his wife had some flaws—ok maybe a bit more than a few—but they were for a reason. He couldn't really understand what his wife was going through since he never suffered from such a condition and even though he tried to be there for his wife, it became too much for him and he couldn't see the woman he once loved. He knew it was a pathetic reason—his friends told him so—but he had a feeling that maybe if they spent some time away from each other Hanabi would realize her she was just pushing everyone away and maybe try to reconcile.

"Just give it some time. Perhaps your mother will come around."

"I wish it was now rather than later." She sighed heavily and the rest of the car ride was spent in silence.

It took the Hatake family about an hour and half to reach Kaneki's home town in the Miyagi Prefecture and Tohru couldn't help but gasp at the lack of towers and city like structures. She spent most of her time in the cities so she never seen houses spaced so far apart from each other. Tohru considered it a nice change for once, the air was definitely fresher and it was a lot quieter than in the city. Soon they came to a stop in front of what looked like a small high school, confusing Tohru as her father drove further into the school and parked near what looked a gymnasium.

"What are we doing here?" Tohru asked her father as he placed the car in park and turned it off.

"I owe one of my friends a favor." He chuckled nervously, "He's the advisor to the volleyball club here, but he has absolute zero knowledge about sports or how to train for anything. He kept asking me if I could temporarily coach the kids for a while until he gets a real volleyball coach."

"And you said yes?" Tohru asked as they got out of the car and steadily walked towards the gymnasium. She could faintly hear the sounds of sneakers squeaking and balls hitting the wooden floor instantly reminding her of basketball. "I thought you said you would never coach again ever since I turned five."

"Well….he was…..very persuasive…." Kaneki muttered looking away causing Tohru to raise an eyebrow.

"What did he do? Offer to buy you steamed pork buns?"

"No….he just kept on kneeling and begging me. It was embarrassing." He mumbled blushing bright red causing his daughter to stop and blush a deeper red. "What?"

"You do realize that what you just said sounded…without prior context it sounds like…..a yaoi scene right?" Kaneki's daughter whispered as her cheeks glowed an even brighter red. For a moment neither daughter nor father said a word to each other before Kaneki abruptly turned around and stiffly walked towards the gym.

"This conversation never happened alright Tohru-chan?"

"What are you talking about Otoo-san? You've been silent for the last five minutes…." Tohru muttered as she walked beside her father.

"Oh that reminds me…" Kaneki smiled as he placed a hand on Tohru's shoulder to stop her from entering the gym. "I want to surprise a certain someone since they didn't tell me they were coming here so stay outside for a bit until I call for you ok?"

"Ok?" Tohru asked as she stepped aside to let her father though. "But who is it?"

"You baka of a cousin….Kageyama Tobio." Kaneki smiled brightly before entering the gym and calling out his friend's name.

* * *

><p>"Oi Ittestsu!" Kaneki called out as he entered the gym, surprising the small group of teenagers and halting them in practice. "Are these the little rascals you wanted me to get in shape?"<p>

"Ah Kaneki-san! I'm glad you could make it." A man about 5' 3" with short black messy hair, brown eyes and large glasses smiled at his co-worker/friend before turning to the club members. "Everyone, I would like you to meet Hatake sensei. I'm sure some of you may recognize him as your Third Year English teacher," He chuckled as the team captain and third year setter opened their mouth in shock, "But he's agreed to help us out with some basic training until I can get us a proper coach. While he used to teach basketball for middle school, that doesn't mean he can't coach you a bit in volleyball…..eh Kageyama-kun are you ok?" The advisor asked the black haired first year as he paled considerably at Kaneki who smiled brightly.

"Eh? Kageyama is something wrong?" A rather small orange head player asked his teammate who had now caught the attention of the rest of the team.

"Oh is the King speechless that he actually has a coach?" A tall blonde teen with glasses snickered. Just as the blond was about to use another insult, Kageyama finally spoke surprising the entire team.

"U-uncle?"

For a moment, no one made a noise, staring back and forth at the two relatives—one was smiling brightly while the other grew paler and paler—before they cried out in surprise, the orange head being the loudest.

"EHHHHH!"

"YOUR UNCLE TEACHES HERE?!

WAH! HOW COOL IS THAT?!"

"Oh Tobio-kun how are you?" Kaneki asked as walked up to the setter—who could nothing but stand still—and roughly ruffled his head, still smiling brightly. "Why didn't you tell me that you were coming here? I haven't heard from you in about three months." Kageyama had no words for his uncle. After all it was a bit his fault that he didn't tell his uncle—who he was actually close too—about the sudden school change. However it completely slipped his mind that his uncle worked at this particular school and since he was so busy trying to train for volleyball, he hadn't contact his uncle in a while. Heck now that he thought about it, some of the third years were complaining about a Hatake sensei but he still never made the connection. Oh he was so busted now.

"I'm sorry uncle! I'm sorry!" Kageyama managed to choke out as Kaneki laughed, finally releasing some murderous intent.

"Maybe, it's not that cool having your uncle teach and coach you…" The orange head muttered frighteningly as he stood next to an older teen with a shaven head.

"He's so dead."

"Mah Tobio-kun why are you so tense?" Kaneki smiled as he released his nephew. "I'm not going to punish you."

"You're not?" Kageyama asked warily as his uncle gave a nod.

"Your cousin is."

"Eh?" Kageyama managed to choke out before the doors to the gym opened up and a blur of black and white rushed towards him.

"TOBIO-CHAN!" A female voice shouted as the blur jumped high into the air before colliding with Kageyama head on, sending them both flying towards the other end of the gym.

"Kageyama!" The team cried out as they heard two groans.

"Otoo-san, Tobio-chan is heavier than I thought…." Tohru groaned as she tried to get out from underneath the dazed setter. "Get him off me…."

"You're too bulky. Are you sure you're a girl?" Kageyama snapped back causing his cousin to growl.

"Oh you want a pounding?! Cuz I can give you another one!" Tohru shouted as she tried to grab a hold of her cousin and within seconds the two cousins were on the ground wrestling.

"I've never seen Kageyama so….expressive before." The orange haired player nervously said as he and the rest of the team watched Kageyama wrestle with his cousin shouting what sounded to be nicknames and even, dare he say, smirking!

"I know, this is a weird side to him." The bald head player muttered before Kaneki calmly walked up to the two and cleared his throat. The two family members instantly froze and faster than anyone could blink, they were standing up right next to each other.

"That's better." Kaneki smiled as he turned towards his friend and pulled his daughter right next to him who smiled nervously. "Now Ittestsu, I think I mentioned in passing conversation but I would like to officially introduce my daughter Tohru. Tohru this is one of my friends Tadeka Ittetsu" At the mention of her name Tohru smiled brightly at the advisor and bowed.

"It's very nice to meet you Tadeka-sempai! Otoo-san told me how very…stubborn you were when you asked him to help you teach the volleyball club." Tohru smiled as her father blushed a bright red and ruffled her head a bit forcefully as Tadeka gave her a confused stare.

"What do you—"

"NOTHING!" Kaneki shouted as he turned around and saw the confused looks of the volleyball team. "Ah Ittetsu why don't you introduce me to your team? I only know a couple of them and I would like to know their names instead of coming up with nicknames." He chuckled as the rest of the volleyball team stared at the English teacher.

"Oh that's right! But I think I should let out captain do the honors. After all he does know the team more than I do." Tadeka-san smiled as the captain of the team took a step forward and bowed towards the two Hatake's.

"Yoroshiku Onegashimasu. I'm Daichi Sawamura the captain of the team Hatake sensei. My vice captain is Koushi Sugawara. The rest of our members are Chikara Ennoshitaa, Ryunosuke Tanaka, Hisashi Kinoshita, Kazuhito Narita," Daichi said pointing out each of the members. Only Tanaka—the bald one in the group—gave Tohru a sly smile and a very energetic wave. "We also have our manager—Kiyoko Shimizu," He pointed towards an older girl with beautiful straight black hair and bright blue eyes who gave the two of them a bow "And our newest members are Tadashi Yamaguchi, Kei Tsukishima, Shouyo Hinata, and you nephew Tobio—"

"Bakayama." Tohru finished, smiling at her growling cousin.

"Shut up Baka!"

"Tohru…." Immediately the gymnast shut her mouth but still playfully glared at her cousin who growled in return before the orange head from earlier, jumped right in front of her, smiling brightly.

"Ooh! You're Kageyama's cousin! You're nothing like him though! You seem a lot nicer than him!"

"Of course I'm nicer than him." Tohru smirked before smiling softly at him. "But it's nice to meet my cousin's team who don't look like total jackasses. Last I heard it wasn't that great."

"How the hell do you know about that!?" Kageyama asked, blushing bright red as Tohru gave him an eye smile.

"Because you're my family and I always want to know how you're doing."

"Alright enough of the mushy family stuff. We have next week to do that." Kaneki chuckled as he turned towards the team. "So any matches or practice matches I need to get you guys in shape for?"

"Oh! The Aoba Josai high school match Tadeka-sensei got for us!" Hinata smiled brightly, jumping up and down. "It's one of the top four schools in our district!"

"Yikes." The English professor sighed before turning his head towards his friend. "How the hell did you manage that?"

"Ano…"

"Never mind don't answer that." Kaneki sighed before clapping his hands loudly together. "So for the time being I'll be helping you guys get into shape until you guys get a real proper coach. While I do have a slight idea what volleyball is about I honestly have no clue what strategies to use and the techniques for it." Taking a deep breath, Kaneki smirked at the students causing them to take a slight step back in fear. "But what I do know is that when I'm done with you, you'll be able to play games back to back without breaking a sweat."

"Really!" Hinata shouted, his eyes glowing in joy. "Do you really mean that?!"

"Of course he does!" Tohru smirked. "Otoo-san was one of the best middle school basketball coaches in the Tokyo district! He personally coached the Teiko basketball club until fifteen years ago! He'll whip you boys into shape or you guys will die trying!"

"Wait what?" Hinata and Tanaka asked simultaneously as Tohru merely laughed. They turned towards their teammate Kageyama for an explanation and saw his face turn even paler than before.

"Wait…" The grey haired boy, Sugawara shakily placed his hand in the air trying to get Tohru's attention. "There's only about a week before the match, there's no possible—"

"Nothing impossible!" Kaneki smiled as he grabbed a whistle from his pocket and placed it between his lips. "Now let's start with some endurance. I believe all of you know what suicide lines are correct? I want thirty of them done. And I want all of you guys sprinting."

"Are you serious?" The blonde boy with glasses—Tsukishima—cried out as his eyes budged out slightly.

"Anyone who doesn't finish them will run laps around the school." Kaneki continued as if he hadn't heard the boy. "Now on the starting line—Tohru what are you doing?" All the volleyball players looked behind them to see their teammate's cousin standing at the white line ready to start.

"What? I wanna join them."

"Tohru….." Her father sighed heavily as she gave him a small frown before rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Fine. But nothing heavy. You have practice on Monday and I don't want to overwork you."

"Trust me you won't." She smiled as the rest of the team quickly joined Tohru at the line, Hinata choosing to stand next to her. "I've done more tiring things. I can finish this easy."

"I challenge you!" He shouted, smiling brightly which the gymnast returned just as bright.

"You're on Shorty!"

"Oi! You're just as short as me!" He pouted as the rest of the team chuckled.

"No more talking! You're gonna need all the air for this workout." Kaneki smiled as he blew the whistle, signaling the start of suicide lines which the volleyball team figured out why they were called that.

* * *

><p>"Ha….ha…..ha…..your…..cousin…..is…a…monster." Hinata panted heavily as he looked over towards his teammate who was in a similar state. "Kageyama, what…kind…..of sport does…she do…to get…..that strong?!"<p>

"Trust me….you don't…..want to….to know." The black haired setter groaned as he weakly pushed himself into a sitting position.

"But seeing how the two of you are cousins…." Tsukishima smirked tiredly, "I don't think it's farfetched that she's the queen of the court."

"Don't you let her hear you say that." Kageyama growled at Tsukishima, "She hats being called that, more so than me. It won't matter who you are, she will kick your ass if you say those three words to her."

"Really? She seems really nice though." Sugawara panted as he took a sip of his own water. "I find it hard to believe that she would physically hurt someone besides you."

"We're family, it's different." Kageyama muttered, looking away. "Besides….the sport she plays….she really hates it despite being so good at it so that's why she hates being called that."

"But how can you hate a sport you're really good at?" Hinata asked, sitting up and looked confused. "I would love the sport even more!"

"Not if you were forced to place it as your top priority and everyone hated you for your natural talent." Kageyama finished sadly as he looked over towards his cousin as she laughed with her father and their sempai.

"Alright! Break's over!" Kaneki called out before the volleyball boys could ask Kageyama any more questions. "Now it has recently come to my attention that I really haven't seen what you boys can do so I want a little practice match…..hmmm there's only enough for five on five huh." Kaneki muttered as he counted the boys. "That would have been perfect for basketball but that's not really allowed in Volleyball huh."

"I think it's actually fine Otoo-san." Tohru piped in. "It's an even number on both sides so it should be fine right? We are just assessing them after all."

"I suppose…..ok first years plus….Tanaka-kun head to one side of the course while the remaining veterans are on the other side." Kaneki smiled as Hinata and Tanaka jumped in excitement. "It'll be just like a normal game so I want you guys to play your hardest and go all out."

"Kageyama! Kageyama lets do that quick attack again!" Hinata smiled as he stood in front of the black haired setter.

"Get into position already!" Kageyama snapped as Tanaka laughed at their behavior.

"Great, I'm playing with the King and his joker." Tsukishima muttered as his friend Yamaguchi snickered.

"Less talking and more playing!" Kaneki snapped before throwing the balls towards the seniors. "I'll let you guys start and put some pressure on the freshies."

"Hai!" The captain smiled as he got into position to serve.

"So what do you think Tohru-chan? Do you like this father and daughter bonding time?" Kaneki asked his daughter while keeping his eyes on the match in front of them.

"It's certainly unexpected. But nothing that I wouldn't mind." Tohru smiled as the volleyball sailed back over to the seniors side as Tanaka caught the captain's serve and helped Kageyama set it towards Tsukishima. "And while volleyball is not as exciting as basketball, I could get used to having the weekends spent like this."

"Ano, am I cutting into your custody time with your daughter?" Tadaka sensei asked, looking surprised. "I'm sorry I didn't want you to—"

"It's fine!" Kaneki laughed as the seniors spiked the ball over to the freshmen side. "We're a sports family so this isn't as bad as you think—"

"OVER HERE!" Hinata shouted as he sped cross court just as Kageyama received Tanaka's save. Before Tohru or Kaneki could ponder what the orange head was going to do, within a second, he jumped right in front of an opening and slammed the volleyball straight down before any of the seniors could react. However, Hinata's momentum continued and he crashed clumsily into the gym floor.

"NANI!" Tohru shouted as she, her father and the volleyball advisor stared in shock at the first year duo. "When the hell did the Shorty learn to jump that high?!"

"Shit I knew my nephew's potential in setting but this…" Kaneki muttered he watched Kageyama shout angrily at Hinata for landing recklessly before turning to his daughter. In the background, Tanaka was cheering loudly for his teammate while the other two freshmen merely looked uninterested. "Please tell me you saw that with—"

"Of course I did." Tohru muttered, her eyes narrowing. "It's not that easy to turn it off. He has a lot of power in his legs but his balance is sketchy at best. If he slips or loses stamina in his legs he's going to have that kind of landing every time."

"But other than that…"

"Other than that, he pretty can be unstoppable if his opponents can't catch up to him or predict his next movement." Tohru muttered. "It's a good surprise attack but other than that, if he uses it too much it doesn't become as effective."

"I see…." Kaneki muttered as the volleyball club members turned towards him to see if their coach wanted to continue.

"Oh and he also had his eyes closed."

"WHAT!" Kaneki shouted as he looked at his daughter who was staring at the freshmen duo. "How the hell…please don't tell me he also has—"

"He just apparently trusts Kageyama that much." Sugawara answered the coach before he could finish his sentence. "It's pretty amazing what those two can do."

"You got that right." Tohru muttered before turning towards her father. "You should continue the game to see what else these volleyball players have up their sleeves."

"Right. I'll leave you to watch the things I can't see alright?" Kaneki smiled to his daughter who merely smirked.

"Of course." Tadaka wanted to ask the family duo what they meant, but Kaneki already blew the whistle to start the next serve.

"Come on, keep on going! We don't have all day."

"We actually do but I get your point." Tohru chuckled as both father and daughter kept their eyes on the players, looking much more professional than they seemed to be.

"Yosh! Let's do this!" Tanaka shouted as he threw the ball into the air before slamming it with the palm of his hand, sending it over to the other side with a bit of strength.

"Nice catch!" One of the veterans called out as their team member received the serve and sent it towards their setter, Sugawara.

"He definitely has experience." Kaneki muttered as his daughter nodded. "While he's not a prodigy like Tobio-kun he knows how to set to different players and bring out the best for them.

"Baldly also has some good skills." Tohru muttered as she stared at the second year as he barely saved the spike from the other team. "Not the best defender, but if he were to spike, he'd definitely have more power than Hinata."

"Oh already remembering names?" Tohru's father chuckled. "And here I thought it would take you time to remember anyone else's name besides your cousin. Thinking of some sort of training for him?" Once again Kageyama had set the ball straight towards the speedy orange head and Hinata slammed it towards the other side. This time, there was no clumsy landing.

"Something like that." Tohru smirked as Hinata and Tanaka shouted in victory. "If he manages to get through with my training, he'll be jumping faster and higher than before."

"Can you really teach someone to do that?" Tadaka asked the younger Hatake as she turned around to give him a small smile. He held in a gasp as he looked at her nearly pupil-less eye which he could have sworn were dark brown moments ago.

"Yup. It's totally possible."

The game went on for about forty minutes, the game going to the freshman. Even though they won by a bare margin, the seniors—despite having no super attack like the freshmen—forced the younger students to carefully think about their attacks. While none of the seniors had a power hitter, they certainly made up for it in experience. The captain and setter were an incredible duo, making sure to bring out the best in their other three teammates and encouraged them whenever they failed to catch Hinata's spike in time or got their spike blocked by the towering freshman. The freshmen on the other hand….

"Oi! What the heck was that?!"

They definitely needed more teamwork if they ever wanted their attacks to flawlessly overpower the seniors every round. Tsukishima and Kageyama definitely did not get along with each other—if the name calling was anything to go by—and the taller blonde was only nice to his only friend Yamaguchi. His height made it extremely easy for him to block spikes when he was in the front and he could receive the ball pretty well. His friend Yamaguchi was an average player all around and could barely keep up with his team members. Tanaka was a bit rowdy and loud, but he had power behind his hits and could react fast enough in some situations when it called for it. His experience helped the team out greatly as he called out attacks sometimes to his teammates.

"Hinata's only specialty is his speed and ability to jump high." Tohru muttered, as she sighed heavily and rubbed her eyes. "His receives are sloppy and his blocks aren't that great especially since he doesn't have much strength in his arm to hold still against the more powerful spikes."

"And I'm going to guess you have a plan for that as well?" Kaneki muttered to his daughter as he began writing down information on a clipboard.

"Yup! He should end up being stronger than me of course, but that's due to the fact that he has more testosterone than me." Tohru shrugged as she looked at her cousin. "Tobio-chan still needs to build up more stamina and work on teamwork a bit. But his strength is pretty good. He needs to work on accuracy on his serves though…."

"Alright everyone come here for a moment!" Kaneki called out to the panting volleyball members. "You all need a break and afterwards I'll tell you what I think you guys need to work on. Except for….Tobio….Hinata-kun…..and Sawumara-kun." He called out to the three players. "I have a feeling little orange hair here needs a visual demonstration to show you what you need to work on."

"Hai?" Hinata answered sounding more like an ask causing the ex basketball player to laugh.

"Don't worry, it's not that bad. First of all, Sawumara-kun can you stand on the opposite side of the court? You'll be receiving Hinata's super fast spikes."

"Hai!" The captain answered as he rushed towards one end of the court.

"Now, Tobio, I want you to set the ball to Hinata-kun like you did during the game except you're going to aim it so Hinata has to spike it towards Sawumara okay?"

"Hai oji-san." Kageyama answered as Tohru grabbed a volley ball and met him on the other side of the court, waiting to toss it towards him.

"Um but what about—"

"I want you to spike it like you did during the game." Kaneki answered the orange volleyball player smiling softly. "I just want to show you something alright?"

"Hai!" Hinata smiled as he ran to the edge of the court, waiting for the signal to start running.

"Ok on my whistle…" Kaneki muttered as the captain, the two cousins and Hinata prepared themselves. A second later, the older Hatake blew the whistle and if you were to asked the volleyball team what happened, no one could give you a straight answer. Some said that the ball merely materialized in front of Hinata, others said that Tohru never even threw the ball to Kageyama, and the remaining couldn't even see what happened properly. In reality, Tohru threw the ball expertly towards her cousin just as Hinata was at the net and seconds—or even a second, it was that fast—Kageyama threw the ball straight towards Hinata's outstretched hand as he jumped high into the air.

"Gah!" The captain cried out as he barely received Hinata's spike and caused it to go flying high into the air—a chance ball so to speak.

"Wait….did anyone see Kageyama's cousin throw the ball to him?" Tanaka asked, his eyes growing wide as he saw Tohru smiling triumphantly at her cousin while Hinata smiled at her.

"No….it was so fast, I didn't even see it." Sugawara muttered, looking back and forth at the new freshmen duo.

_They really are something and with Kageyama's cousin in the mix, they're practically unstoppable. How is that even possible? No one should be able to react that fast to Hinata's running. _ The vice captain thought.

"Now I don't think you've noticed but despite the strength in your legs that help you run super fast and jump abnormally high for your height, you have practically no arm muscles. Am I correct?" Kaneki asked Hinata as he looked at his hands. "There were times during the game when the seniors blocked your spikes when they weren't the super quicks right?"

"Yeah…." Hinata grumbled as he looked away.

"Not to mention your balance is a bit sketchy especially when you're trying to receive a serve or spike."

"More like nonexistent." Kageyama grumbled before his cousin punched him in the shoulder.

"What I'm trying to say is, you need some…..extra training besides the normal ones." Kaneki sighed as the two cousins started to fight. "Oi! I'm trying to coach here!"

"Sorry!"

"So….what you're trying to tell me…"

"Is that you're going to need some training that I can't really provide for you." Kaneki answered before smiling at the spiker. "But I know someone who can help you there."

"Wah! Really?!" Hinata smiled, feeling a lot better. "How great will I be then!?"

"That's what I'm going to show you." Kaneki laughed as he grabbed another volleyball and took his daughter's place at the net. "Tohru if you don't mind."

"Not one bit." She smiled as she jogged to the serving line, earning curious stares from everyone on the team minus Kageyama and her father.

"It'll be exactly the same thing." The temporary coach said to the captain as he opened his mouth. "Just receive my daughter's spike and you'll see what I mean when I say we'll train Hinata to be something close to this."

"Ready Otoo-san!" Tohru called out, smiling as Hinata joined his fellow teammates at the edge of the court.

"Okay. On the count of three….one….two….three." Immediately, Kaneki threw the ball towards his nephew just as his daughter sped straight towards the net. Within seconds, Tohru leaped into the air, much higher than Hinata moments ago and as she moved her arm, Kageyama shot the ball straight towards his cousin just in the nick of time.

"Hiyaa!" Tohru shouted as the ball sped towards the volleyball captain. Despite knowing that he would be receiving the ball, the speed and strength behind the hit sent the captain back in surprise and the ball sailed way off course and bounced out of the court.

"Was that even faster than Hinata's spike?" Sugawara asked wide eyed.

"And she jumped even higher….higher than Tsukishima's block." Tanaka muttered, his jaw dropping low to the floor.

"So she is the queen of the court as well…" Tsukishima muttered, his eyes not as wide as the others but enough to show his amazement. Not that he would ever say it aloud.

"SUGO! I'LL BE ABLE TO DO THAT?!" Hinata practically jumped over to the gymnast, smiling brightly. "Teach me, teach me, teach me!"

"It'll take a while trust me." Tohru laughed as Hinata pouted angrily. "It's only the fact that you're more flexible than the rest of the team that it's even possible."

"Huh, what do you mean by that?" Hinata asked as Tohru smirked, jumping backwards and landing nearly just next to her father.

"Because I'm going to put you through gymnastic training! Well, a small portion of it really." Tohru chuckled sheepishly as Hinata's eyes sparkled even brighter. "It'll help you more with your agility and get you a sense of balance so if you ever have one of those wacky falls, you'll be able to maneuver yourself in time to land on your feet instead of your face.

"Wait….you're a gymnast?!" Tanaka asked Tohru with his jaw dropping. "How the hell do you know volleyball?!"

"My cousin….duh." Tohru smiled, "You can't really practice volleyball by yourself, you know that right?"

"Figures, the King needs a Queen to complete their rule on the court." Tsukishima muttered, looking away and smirking, not noticing Tohru's glare. "If the two of you were on a team together, there's no way anyone would have won."

"At least he's playing a sport that he loves and has a passion for which I can't say the same for you." Tohru growled out earning worried looks from the boys. "You clearly have no motivation to even play so why the hell are you even on the court? Because you're good at it? Please. If you continue with that mindset you might as well quit as your teammates will eventually surpass you."

"That's funny coming from the famous gymnast prodigy, Tohru Hatake, if I remember the papers correctly." Tsukishima muttered as Tohru clenched her fist tighter. "You may not be the queen of the volleyball court, but you certainly hold that title among your peer—"

"ENOUGH!" Kaneki shouted, interrupting Tsukishima's speech. Now that the blonde looked back at the gymnast, he was surprised to see Kageyama holding her cousin back as she held her fist into the air. Her eyes burned angrily at him and for a moment, Tsukishima was thankful that he wasn't receiving that punch anytime soon. "I think we've overstayed our welcome here. Tohru and I are going to get some dinner and begin a workout regime for the team tomorrow."

"Ah yes." Tadaka managed to stutter out as the ex basketball coach grabbed his daughter's shoulder, causing her to immediately relax. Once Kageyama was sure that his cousin wasn't going to try anything, he let his uncle take her away. "Next time tomorrow?"

"Yeah, we'll be here early in the morning. Oh Kageyama, you're actually coming with us. Your mother told me to take you home and since we're eating out, you have to come as well."

"But there's still volleyball practice!" Kageyama complained before his uncle raised an eyebrow and immediately Kageyama sighed. "Fine. Let me get my stuff…."

"That's the spirit." Kaneki smiled before turning towards the team. "And the rest of you should also take the rest of the day off. The regime I have planned for you will need all the rest you can get."

"Hai!" The rest of the team called out together before they quickly went to clean up their gym.

"I'll help too." Tohru said as she rushed to help the seniors loosen up the net leaving her father alone to glare at the rest of the team….more specifically a blonde freshmen.

"Oh and Tsukishima right?" Kaneki called out to the tall freshmen. "Remember I'm your coach so if you do anything that upsets me or my daughter….especially my daughter, you'll be seeing yourself doing a lot more than your teammate."

"I'll….keep that in mind." The freshman muttered as he adjusted his glasses and made his way towards the closest to grab the mops.

"Ah kids…..to be young and naïve." Kaneki muttered as Hinata and his daughter began chatting rather wildly. "It looks like I have to keep an eye out for that kid…."

"Ah! Kaneki-san what are you planning!?"

* * *

><p>"Are you ready for school?" Kaneki asked his daughter as he kept his eyes on the road just as the sun was setting. It was already Sunday and as much as Tohru wanted to stay with her father, she knew she had to go back to Tokyo. Not only did she need to start school, but her gymnastic practices that her mother will be making sure she attends.<p>

"I would be if I got to see BakaTsuki's frustrated face again. Ah….sweet revenge when I got to practice spikes with that smug little bastard."

"He's not little you know that right? He's nearly a foot taller than you." Tohru's father chuckled as his daughter pouted.

"Shut up. You know what I mean…"

"And while I do have some resentment towards that….kid…I can't really approve your choice of words on Friday."

"He totally deserved it….if he got offended then hopefully that'll push him—"

"That's still no reason for you to have said those harsh words. Who knows, perhaps his situation is similar to yours and his attitude his is way of dealing with it." Kaneki lectured his daughter as she looked away in shame.

"Sorry…..I'll apologize to him next week." Tohru sighed before pouting. "But if he doesn't get an attitude change, I'm going to kick his sorry ass!"

"Ah, that's my girl." Kaneki laughed before realizing something. "Ah speaking of school—"

"Actually we were speaking about BakaTsuki—"

"You know what I mean." Tohru snorted but let her father continue on. "Anyways. I never really did ask you….what school are you going to anyways?"

"Ah, I'm actually surprised you remember that." Tohru muttered, "Honestly I thought it would take you a month before you asked about it."

"Just because I couldn't remember your picture days at school, doesn't mean I can't remember anything else." Kaneki groaned. Seriously, he's held accountable for one….ok maybe five….or more…..miss dates and he's now remembered as the father who can't remember special days. He shouldn't say that aloud.

"Uh huh sure. Anyways, the answer to your question is Serin High School and before you ask, it's a new school so you probably haven't heard of them just yet."

"Ah….probably." Kaneki chuckled before biting his lips. He desperately wanted to ask his daughter another question but he didn't want to upset his daughter anymore. "Do you….do you plan on joining any clubs?" Just as he feared, his daughter's eyes dulled and just as she sighed heavily, she turned her head away and looked out the car window.

"No….mom already told the school that with my Gymnastic practices, I didn't need to join a club seeing that every student has to participate in one at least."

"Oh….I see…."Kaneki muttered sighing heavily as he once again wondered what his ex-wife was thinking.

_But that was one of the reasons you loved her._ He thought to himself. _She was one of the few women whom I could never really tell what the hell was going on in her head._

"Well….I'm sure your gymnastic teammates will make sure you're welcomed."

"They're in college. I'm pretty sure they don't want anything to do with a high school freshmen." Tohru muttered before putting her headphones into her ears, signaling the end of their conversation.

"Oh Tohru….I honestly wish there's a team out there that will make you want to break away from your mother's strict rules….maybe she will finally see that gymnastics isn't everything…" Kaneki sighed as he turned down the radio and quietly listened to his daughter's music through her headphones.

* * *

><p>"Tohru, time to get up." Kyo's voice shouted through the wooden door of her temporary room. Sleepily, Tohru opened her eyes as blinked her eyes into focus as sunlight was slowly entering her room. There wasn't much besides a dresser for her clothes, a desk and a small clothes rack to hold her leotards. Laying perfectly folded on the desk was her school uniform reminding Tohru that she had to arrive at school early in order to get her papers done.<p>

"Ugh, I wish the weekend was longer." She groaned as she threw her covers off and slowly sat in her bed.

"Oi! You up?! If not I'll get the damn keys and throw your sorry ass out of bed."

"Not a morning person are you." Tohru muttered back sleepily as she threw her legs off the bed before tripping and falling flat on her face as she tried to stand up."

"It sounds like you're not either." Kyo chuckled, "Breakfast will be ready soon so if you don't want a cold breakfast I suggest you hurry."

"Shut up." Tohru groaned as she slowly pushed herself and glared darkly at the door. "Asshole…."

"Ah and the dead walks among us." Kyo smirked as Tohru tiredly made her way down the stairs wearing her school uniform. "Welcome."

"Oh, you look so cute!" The older Tohru smiled as she took notice of her tenant. "It kind of reminds you of our high school days doesn't it Kyo-kun?" beside her, little Katsuya giggled happily as he took notice of the third member in the house. Tohru couldn't help but smile at the infant and even gave him a small head ruffle.

"The uniforms don't even look remotely close to ours." Kyo snorted before passing a bowl of rice to his student. "Here eat up. Tohru made you a bento box as well, so you don't have to buy lunch."

"Oh," Tohru—the younger—said, shocked at her gymnastic teacher's wife before remembering her manners. "Ah thank you very much. You didn't have to make me one though. Honestly." Waving her hand the brunette merely smiled.

"Nonsense! It's the least I could do. My mother used to make my lunches and I figured you would like the same experience especially now that your mother can't make them for you anymore."

"Not that she ever made me one for a long time." Tohru sighed heavily before grabbing a piece of meat. "Itedaikimasu." Looking at her husband, Tohru looked lost at the gymnast's words but her husband shook her head.

"She'll tell us in her own time. You just have to wait with open arms….just like you always do."

"Right." She smiled softly at her husband. "That's all we can do."

"Well….I better get ready. We have to head out as soon as little sleepy head here finishes" Kyo sighed as he placed his empty bowl at the table and clapped his hands together. "Goochisama."

"I heard that!" Tohru shouted to her teacher after she hastily swallowed her food. Before taking another bite and smiling at the wonderful mix of flavors.

_Well, there's one thing that I don't mind….Tohru's cooking._

* * *

><p>"This is a really big school…" Tohru muttered to herself as she walked among the rest of the student towards the gate of the new and pristine school. Nervously, Tohru played with her hair—for once not in a messy half ponytail—as she looked at the paper map her coach gave her. Apparently he had another job to go to and couldn't drop her off at the office.<p>

"Um…excuse me…" Tohru muttered towards a taller cropped black hired male student after gathering enough courage. Turning around, Tohru saw his brown eyes looking down at her behind a pair of glasses.

"Yes?"

"C-can you tell me where the office is? I have to get my schedule before class starts." He gave her a strange look before answering.

"But all students got their schedules last week during the first day of school."

"I'm new, I just came from America this Friday and didn't get a chance to get my schedule." Tohru answered, trying her best not to look directly into his eyes.

_What the hell is wrong with you!? You can handle family friends, thousands of people watching you perform on live TV but when it comes to talking one on one with a stranger you act like a manga school girl! Get a grip Tohru! _

"Oh that makes sense." The boy muttered before pointing towards a building behind a large Sakura tree. "The building is straight behind there. You might want to hurry since we have a morning assembly in half an hour."

"Ah thank you. M-my name's Hatake Tohru. Thank you again for your help." Tohru bowed clumsily before rushing off just as the boy opened his mouth.

"Ah…I was going to introduce myself. Sheesh, underclassmen have no respect for their elders do they?" The boy sighed before turning around. "Well, I better get to class….." The boy paused for a moment, looking up at the tallest building at the school with a small smile on his face. "I wonder if Riko-san will do something similar this year to the new recruits."

"I'm terribly sorry, about forgetting your papers Hatake-san." A woman behind a counter sighed heavily as phones around the office rang constantly. "It's been pretty busy and with the morning assembly in just a few minutes, we have to get the students out into the field in an orderly fashion."

"Don't worry, it's fine." Tohru smiled tiredly as the woman got up to answer a phone and tried to find the gymnast's class schedule inside a filing cabinet. "Take all the time you need….it looks like you need it." Looking around, Tohru noticed a small newspaper clipping hanging on one of the professors' desk with the words, MADE IT TO INTERHIGH IN ONLY A YEAR standing out. Before she could get a closer look at the picture—it strangely looked like the boy she talked to earlier—a hand tapped her shoulder.

"YES!" She squeaked, turning around rapidly as the woman smiled knowingly at her. "Sorry, I didn't mean too…"

"It's fine. I'm sure Takeda-san wouldn't mind. And it's my fault that I'm making you wait….here's your class schedule. You're in class 1-B—shoot they should be already arriving out in the field now." The woman sighed as the bells rang signaling the start of the assembly. "Well, I can't take you to class so just line up behind any of the students and if the teachers ask why you're there, just tell them at Mado-sensei couldn't find your schedule in time and since you don't know who your teacher is, you can't join them for the assembly until afterwards."

"Hai…" Tohru muttered as Mado-sensei quickly rushed out of the room with the rest of her colleges trying to get to the field before the students. "I guess…..I'm on my own?" With no one to answer her, Tohru grabbed her bag and schedule and slowly made her ways towards the field where the rest of the students were walking towards in a straight line. Quietly she began following a line of students hoping that no one would notice her and to her relief no one questioned her presence.

"Are you in our class?" And she spoke too soon. Looking up Tohru saw another tall male student with black eyes and black hair, a bit longer than the first boy she met, tilting his head in confusion as he looked at her.

"Eh….no, I'm actually new but um…my schedule got mixed up….and…I couldn't get to class on time….Mado sensei told me to go to the…um…assembly and yeah…" Tohru muttered, trying her hardest not to blush in embarrassment.

_Seriously, if anyone were to look at you right now, they wouldn't even consider you as a national athlete!_

"Oh I see. Don't worry, we'll cover you if a teacher comes by." He smiled. "My name is Shun Izuki second year."

"Ah, my name's Tohru Hatake—I mean Hatake Tohru….gah sorry give me a moment." Tohru muttered, blushing brighter than before at her rookie mistake before Izuki chuckled.

"I take it you're not from Japan? What country did you come from?"

"Ano….actually I'm from Japan it's just I get really nervous when meeting new people." Tohru chuckled sheepishly. "I came back from America after two years and over there they say their first name first and yeah. My brain gets a bit fried with new people."

"Well, we know each other's name so we're not strangers anymore." Izuki smiled, "So you don't have to be nervous."

"Ah….thanks." Tohru smiled before bowing. "It's just strange going to a school with not knowing anyone…"

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll make friends." The older student smiled before the principle's voice coughed into the mic. "Oh it looks like we're starting finally—"

"CLASS 1-B, NUMBER 5 KAGAMI TAIGA. I WILL DEFEAT THE GENERATION OF MIRACLES AND BECOME THE BEST PLAYER IN JAPAN!" A booming voice echoed through the field catching the attention of the students and teachers.

"Huh, it seems Riko is still doing that tradition." Izuki smiled as he looked up towards one of the taller building. Following his sight, Tohru couldn't help but gasp lightly as she saw a semi-red head standing proudly and fearlessly on one of the rails, smirking as if he just won the lottery. However, the student's words stirred something inside the young gymnast as she remembered making a similar statement to her father and friend a long time ago.

"_Just you watch!" A young Tohru pouted angrily at her father and best fried. "I'll become the best basketball player in all of Japan! I'll make the national team and I will beat you in a game!"_

"_Ah that's the spirit." Kaneki smiled at his daughter before ruffling her hair. "But we have to work on that poor shooting skill you have."_

"_Otoo-san!"_

"_Hahahaha don't worry Tohrucchi! I believe you'll do it!" Kise smiled at his friend. "Because you're just that awesome!"_

"That's right…" She muttered to herself as another student took the large head head's place and began yelling his goals about basketball. She didn't even notice the small pool of tears at the corner of her eyes.

_I wanted to be the best….I wanted to play basketball until I died of old age. I wanted to play with people who are just as passionate as him….I wanted to play…..I want to play…I want to play so badly…..but…._

"…I can't…." Tohru whispered sadly to herself as she clenched her firsts tightly. "I just…..can't"

* * *

><p>"And we have a new student joining us this year." The female teacher smiled as she introduced Tohru to the class after the assembly that had gone bit longer than anticipated due to what Tohru expected to be the work of the basketball club. "She came all the way from America so please welcome her."<p>

"O-ohayoo Onegashimasu. My name is H-hatake Tohru. It's a pleasure to meet you." The young gym said softly as she quickly bowed to avoid the eyes of her new classmate. However, it did not go unnoticed that the red head from the morning assembly was sitting in her class as well.

_Talk about coincidences. Is this like a sign to me or something? Sorry but have you met my mother Fate? It's not going to happen._

"You can take a seat behind Kagami-kun. It seems we barely have enough room for you." She smiled as she pointed to a supposedly visible seat behind the large first year.

"And here I thought BakaTsuki was tall for his age." Tohru whispered quietly to herself as she walked towards the vacant seat. She just placed her bag down on the table before noticing that there was someone else at the supposedly empty desk. Looking up sharply, Tohru cried out in surprise as a blue haired teen basically materialized in front of her.

"Sorry, but sensei I'm sitting here." The bluenette quietly said, barely catching the attention of the teacher who held her hand over heart much like Tohru.

_What the—I didn't even see him! But I should have still sensed him! Who the hell is this guy?!_

"Oh I'm sorry Kuroko-kun. Um….is there a seat open behind you Kuroko-kun?" The female teacher asked after getting over her initial shock,

"Hai." He replied before giving Tohru her bag back. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"t-that's ok." Tohru stuttered before rushing into her new seat to avoid more stares.

"Alright class, we'll begin with a passage from…." Sighing heavily, Tohru slowly got out a notebook and pencil to begin writing down the notes, not really remembering what she wrote at all.

_What a way to start the school year. _

"Come on, Miyuki-chan! School ended like five minutes ago!" One of the females in class giggled to her friend as the school bell rang, signaling the end of class.

"Coming!" Sighing heavily, Tohru painstakingly slowly packed her things into her school bag; not eager to leave school just yet. It would take her coach another hour or two to be able to pick her up and take her to practice, something she wasn't really looking forward too. She would have taken the bus home, but she had no money and no one was at the house at the moment.

"I might as well find a place to study and do my homework." Tohru muttered to herself as she got up and left the now empty classroom seeing that she was the last one to leave. It only took her five minutes to reach the school's library only for her to frown at the surprisingly filled room. "Well there goes one studying spot…"

"Maybe outside?" Tohru asked herself as she looked out the school window only to frown at the window conditions. "Unless I want to chase my homework, studying outside is another no…." Tohru groaned to herself as she continued to walk around the school campus trying to find a decent place to study. Before Tohru knew it, she suddenly she found herself standing in front of the gym, causing her growl in frustration.

"Seriously, Fate. It's not going to happen." She muttered angrily to herself as she stood in front of the pristine gym, staring angrily at it. "My mother won't allow it, my coach probably won't allow it and the fact that I can play a bit of Volleyball with my cousin and father is a miracle. Playing basketball is going to push it too far…." Just then her phone vibrated in her pocket and as she looked at the message, she felt her twitch.

From: Catlike coach  
>To: Tohru<br>Subject: Sorry

-Sorry, but it seems like my girls have a project that they decided to procrastinate and will not be coming to practice so you're in luck today. Not to mention, I have to go to my father's dojo to help him fix several doors that his students destroyed. I'll be picking you up later than usual so go join a club or something.

"No….it's not going to happen." Tohru growled out as she angrily shut her phone. "Not going to happen! My mother will find out and….and…."The gymnast eventually sighed heavily as she looked up at the afternoon sky. It was still bright out but it was slowly fading into an orange color.

"And I'm just scared to stand up to my mother…." Tohru chuckled humorlessly before taking a deep breath. "Maybe…maybe…." Taking out her phone, Tohru immediately went to her messages inbox and found her coach's number.

From: Tohru  
>To: Catlike coach<br>Subject: Re: Sorry

-It's fine. I'm not in a rush to stretch my body beyond what it was meant for. Anyways….I wanted to know what you would think if I….were to try to be a manager for the um…basketball club?

Tohru stared at her phone as she hit the send button, trying to calm her heart as she wondered what kind of answer her coach would give.

_It can't be that bad of an answer. I mean…the worst is he could say join another club! And he seemed ok with the fact that I used to play Basketball…right? And if he's ok with me being a manager? Well…. I might not be playing basketball but at least it's something._ Her phone chimed just then and immediately Tohru clicked on it.

From: Catlike coach  
>To: Tohru<br>Subject: Re: Re: Sorry

-Hah, good one. And to answer your question, go ahead. It'll be good for you to try new things. None of the girls at my gym are just focusing solely on Gymnastics, they have little side sports and hobbies they do on the side for fun. It's never good to be too focused on one thing. Who knows, maybe you can incorporate basketball into your routine. It will make it very original.

Tohru couldn't help but smile softly at the answer and immediately went to type out a reply.

From: Tohru  
>To: Catlike Coach<br>Subject: Re: Re: Re: Sorry

-Ah ok. Thanks….you're a cool coach you know that right?

"And I'm not going to look at his answer." Tohru muttered, blushing bright red as her phone vibrated. Taking a deep breath, Tohru shakily grabbed the door handle before letting go in fear.

_No! Stop getting scared! Mom will never know about this and even if she did I can always tell her that my coach told me! Yeah! That'll work._

"Just work up the damn courage already!" Tohru whispered harshly to herself before taking another deep breath to calm herself down and slowly reached for the door handles. Tohru turned the knob, opening the gym doors slowly but before she could even appreciate the sight of the basketball court and the players, she only had enough time to hear someone shout out, 'watch out!' before a basketball greeted her face sending her straight into darkness.

* * *

><p><strong>And finite. What do you guys think about it?<strong>


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